Birth control pills may cut woman`s bone density

Washington: A study has found that birth control pills may reduce a woman`s bone density.

The study by Group Health Research Institute (GHRI) scientists showed that the impacts on bone were small, depended on the woman``s age and the pill``s hormone dose, and did not appear until about two years of use.

GHRI Senior Investigator Delia Scholes, PhD, who led the study, said that hormones are a key component of bone health, and hormonal contraceptives are a major source of external hormones for women.

A woman``s risk of fractures later in life is influenced by the bone mass she gains in her teens through her 20s, and this age group has the highest use of oral contraceptives.

"The teen years are when women most actively gain bone, so we thought it was important to look at that age group," Scholes said.

"We found that oral contraceptive use had a small negative impact on bone gain at these ages, but took time to appear, and depended on hormone dose," she stated.